"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."- John Dewey.
From the job market to tertiary education, from UPSR to A-Levels, Education in Malaysia focuses on bringing you the latest news and analysis on our nation's best bet on the future.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Wants to Teach, but Degree not Recognised

The following is a letter I've received from Anucia with regards to the recognition of diplomas and degrees from some of overseas universities.

I am a student almost completing the Graduate Diploma in Education in the University of Western Australia and have been very much looking forward to serving the country. I completed my undergraduate Science degree in USM Penang and opted for an internationally recognised teaching qualification for security purposes. Before I go any further, I would like to apologise if this piece comes across as emotionally driven.

I recently applied online on the Ministry of Education’s website for the Guru Sandaran Terlatih position and have been regularly checking the site for updates since getting through to a person I could speak to about my circumstances has proved to be very hard.

I managed to speak to an officer from the ministry last week and he informed me that the route to a permanent post is via the same route, ie initial probationary period subject to confirmation, and that it was the same for teaching students from public and private colleges. He however could not offer me more information and suggested I call back at another time. Today I spoke to someone else in the office about the process and she told me that I would need my qualifications recognised by JPA before I could be granted an interview and she did not know what should be done after obtaining the JPA recognition.

Anyway, I duly called JPA and was curtly told that my qualifications are not recognised, never mind that it is internationally recognised. I was too distraught to proceed with further questions like where do I go from here, etc. I do not mean to sound pompous, but my practical reports and academic results have been outstanding and I have even been offered a teaching position overseas. I however declined because I wanted to come home to serve my country. To be presented with such news is disappointing and shocking among other things. I guess I can still apply to local private schools but my desire is to make a positive difference in the public education system – a system that I am proudly a product of.

Now I need to figure out what to tell my parents who have funded this course with their life savings. I know I will be faulted for not finding this out before enrolling but really, who would have thought that an internationally recognised qualification is not recognised in Malaysia. Which part of 'international' does Malaysia not fall under? Needless to say I am disillusioned and extremely disappointed that my qualifications and big dreams have no place in Malaysia. Do we even need to wonder why young people are forced out of their own country?

Hi Anucia, You should apply for jobs in as many places as you can, be it in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia etc. You can not count on oly one place, once you have an offer, better still multiple offers, then you have a choice. You can then even call up JPA asking them whether they have a job offer for you in writing, if not you are going to accept the offer you have. Concentrate on things you can control, you can only hope things you have no control over works out and you need multiple chances to improve your odds. I have a doctor friend married a doctor from another country, both are qualified doctors from recognised universities, but the wife spent many years waiting for her work permit to work in Malaysia, while Malaysia was acutely short of doctors!

Anucia, the education system and civil administration here is rotten and politicised. Therefore, you'll have to wait for politics to sort itself out. As for your career, I suppose because of your parents, you want to remain close to home.

In view of your situation and aspirations, your best bet is Singapore where you'll be recognized and rewarded on merit plus you're always less than 3 hours away from home.

What is this....this just a call for sympathy...send one CV and moan you dont get the job?Do not assume that you are the only one with a PhD or whatever thats applying for a job. If you dont get the job you like...get another one..and try again later..maybe you'll get it next time.Moaning about it and labelling yourself as a victim of the "system" gets you nowhere.Good Luck

Which part of the world have you been? If top class universities in the world like Beijing University are not recognised by JPA, what's that compared to yours? And again which part of the world have you been again? Moaning about your failure to apply as a teacher in Malaysia via JPA, when there are thousand and one options for you? Like the previous comments mentioned, Spore, private colleges etc etc...

It's amusing how you can tell the exact same thing as Daniel's with so much heartless cynicism. What's wrong with young people being idealists, especially these fully qualified ones? Does everyone have to be going with the flow and gaming the system for money instead of standing up for principles? I'd take one of these idealists over many of the lazy arses at some SMKs in my neighborhood any day.

To all people that viewed this text and a personal moaning, please consider this...

The government has been shouting and moaning for Malaysian in foreign countries to serve Malaysia back. And if memories does not fail me, some jpa-sponsored student are blamed because they did not return back to malaysia.

Yet, on the other hand, we had examples when talented people wished to serve the country, rejecting those nice offers from overseas, getting rejected by our local government...... Isn't it ironic?

It just take a google search for JPA to know the credibility of UWA...

To those people that claim there is no problem of the system, answer me this, why the heck UWA with ranking 84 worldwide is not recognized, but local uni such as USM, UM , that rank 200++ (or more) in world is accepted?

JPA, complaining brain drain and at the same time rejecting talent from overseas, anyone talk me out of this sense plz?

I am amused too Coltz that you refer to the comment with the added phrase of "rotten and politiced education system" as heartfelt, and mine as heartless...There is nothing wrong with being an idealist..and I do hope Anucia achieves his/her dream (really..I mean it...you may not believe that a rotten Malay like me means it..but I do).But giving false hope is something else....you send CVs everywhere..and dont play the victim of the "system" when you dont get it...So...boo hoo....I would say the same thing to my daughter...but you wont believe that right...Im just a rotten Malaysian who's part of the problem and always asking for a silver platter to magically materialise in front of my eyes

For those who voted for Barisan Nasional, please open your eyes now to see the real problem facing the country. You are the selfish bunch of people who care only for your interest. It is only when your next generation suffers then you realize how useless is this BN government.

Anucia should have checked with the Education Ministry before she went overseas for her postgrad studies. That is what a person dedicated to becoming a teacher in Malaysia would do, and before spending the parent's life savings, at the very least.

Do not blame the system when she had not done her due diligence and went ahead with her own plans. After all, she went to a local university and should be quite accustomed to what is expected of the local system to be a school teacher. This is not even touching on the career support services, her lecturers, and her peers, whom she could consult.

You are right about how young people may think differently from us. I am sure you also went through many roughs and troughs to get to where you are now. Perhaps this is one of those that Anucia is going through now.

You are right also about jaded cynics complaining about everything. That is why I felt that being straight to the point about the root cause of her problem is better than spinning the blame all around. All that is not going to help her, other than making her feel better for now.

The point about second class citizen would be another essay for another time. Suffice to say that she would be a second class citizen for sure if she is in Australia.

Ms. Anucia, if you want to become a teacher in Malaysia, why don't you choose to take the course in Malaysia? Because it will be easier for you to apply a teaching job in the schools.Since you have diploma in education from overseas university, you may go to the private sector like colleges or international school. The Guru Sandaran Terlatih application is mainly for those who just graduated with degree in education in local universities.

A teaching diploma is a professional qualification. The qualifications must be recognised by the teaching authorities in Malaysia , in this case the Ministry of Education. The Diploma of Education from UWA has not been evaluated by the MOE unlike the local Diploma in Education.

Just like accountants(has to be a member of MIA),lawyer(has to be admitted to the Malaysian Bar) to practise their professions in Malaysia.

Anucia has done it the other way round. She should have done her degree in UWA (the degree is recognised by JPA) and the Diploma in Education at a local university. That's how everyone does it.

I know of many people who are most able who have been trying to into the KPLI for years but have not succeeded, and they are outstanding individuals in every sense. In contrast, lesser worthy colleagues have got in. Can you fault one for looking for another way? Why not an international qualification?

It's like telling Malaysian students aspiring to be doctors "you must only study locally in order to practise locally, never mind that you may need to sit for an entrance test for an average of four times before you get a chance of getting through, and we don't have enough seats, oh and btw, we do need doctors."

How not very sensible.

Advisor, do you know that a degree is 3 years and a diploma is one? Cost wise, this solution does not make sense. Not everyone is born with a silver platter. Some people do the STPM and go to local universities due to financial constraints.

Something else that doesnt make sense is how JPA recognises the BEd course by UWA but not the Grad Dip program when the subjects that the Grad Dip students do are the subjects that the BEd students take as well, with the same lecturers and subject outline.

If you recognise the local undergrad degree and the foreign institution's BEd, how can you not recognise the Grad Dip?

If we are serious about freshening our education system and globalising our approach and methodologies, it wouldn't kill to encourage overseas trained (esp those from renowned universities, fyi UWA is a member of the Group of 8 universities)to be part of the local workforce.

1Malaysia, what doesn't make sense is why didn't Anucia do her diploma in education at a much cheaper Malaysian university? Your example of medical practice is not correct. Like I said the authority for teaching profession in Malaysian schools is the MOE. Thus, the requirement for the Malaysian Dip Ed requirement. While, for doctors is the MMC. As long as the universities whether local or overseas are recognised by MMC , they shall be able to practise medicine in Malaysia.Similarly,even if you have a PhD and a Dip Ed from Malaysia you cannot simply teach in an American school before you obtain a teaching license from the relevant state in US.

The basic idea is a sovereign nation don't simply allow a foreign country to take over the process of licensing of its professionals .Be it teachers,accountant,lawyers,doctor,architect,doctors,engineer or any profession defined as professional. It's a worldwide practice.

There's no professional restrictions to work in a bank,supermarket,etc.

True, every country has its own rules. Some of these rules are unjust, and some are simply squandering important human resources due to the stupidity of a few on top and ignorance of those who elected them. Instead of advising outright submission to such unjust rules, we have rights to advocate for better rules - that's how democracies work. Bureaucracies are meant to serve public interest, and when they don't, it's very distasteful to just say "you must do this since the government wants you to".

Here I see a clear public good to allow a qualified person teach our kids, and it's obstructed by mindless bureaucracy on the government's part - as well as blind peer pressure (see some of the commentators above) on the people's part. An apathetic crowd poking the good guys into submission in these cases is exactly the thing that got our country into the mess we have today.

So sorry to disappoint you(a self-proclaimed member of theMalaysian ruling class and perhaps a Ketuanan Melayu fascist too),as a third generation Malaysian citizen of Chinesedescent, I chose to return from overseas to help change things.

With a regime change, many more of us will return from Singapore, Australia, USA etc. Here's wishing that you will live to see a regime change materialise in Malaysia.

Coltz,It is not fair to blame the system,politicians and leaders when it is the person's mistake in the first place. Of course, everyone wish that rules be can made to suit their every whims and fancies. But in reality , it doesn't work that way. I symphatise with Anucia but she still has options. 1) Work as a teacher in a private school or college 2) If she still desires to work in a government school, apply the KPLI (I am sure she can obtain get a lot credit transfers based on her Graduate Dip in Ed from UWA)or 3)Work in other professions. Even banks have training centres.

The gov is in a difficult position. First they need to protect UM, USM, etc. If they recognise these oversea degrees, unemployment of the graduates from our Malaysian universities will be even worse than now.

This provides no incentive for our own universities to provide world recognise traning. Because they monopolise the local employment.

Then we complain about brain drain, talent poaching by other countries. When our people are discriminated by our own universities. When our people look for internationally recognise standards, they go oversea. And our Gov conveniently blame these countries and oversea universities for "talent poaching".

Then these malaysians who want to come back and serve, cannot. Because our Gov not recognise their world recognise degrees to protect our Malaysian unis, resulting in losing quality manpower for Malaysia.

To anonymous 10.42 am , it's not about not recognizing foreign degrees. There are thousands of recognised foreign degrees, why chose an unrecognised one? Don't many of the commentors know about accreditation? Accreditation is NOT across the board. It depends on each academic programme. Though many of UWA degrees are recognised by JPA, the graduate Dip in Ed is unfortunately not recognised by JPA. Anucia should have checked the recognition of the programme by JPA before embarking on the programme. The same goes to would be doctors,lawyers or engineers. There are thousands of recognised foreign programmes. Don't choose the unrecognised ones and come back crying and start blaming everyone except themselves.

very disappoint for your degree is not recognized. The better solution is go further study and get higher degree or another degree.If you don't want to keep on studying,never mind, open your own company. maybe that's a good beginning.

The problem here transcends whether the student made a so-called "wrong choice" or not; accepting this person into the public education workforce advances public good. Hence in a democracy, it is perfectly fine for the people to pressure the bureaucracy in such a direction. Heck, I'd support this person's efforts because it's good for me and good for my (future) kids.

Coltz,Anucia made a mistake. She has not done a proper due diligence before making a decision. As simple as that. She should not blame the system and so her blind supporters. I've checked with JPA website http://www.interactive.jpa.gov.my/webinteraktif/frmMainIktiraf.asp

Anucia's case also applies to would be doctors,lawyers,engineers,architects,accountants. If you want to further your studies overseas, please check whether 1) the programme is recognised by JPA and 2)the programme is recognised the governing professional bodies in Malaysia.

Don't blame the system when things don't go your way. Only an anarchist loves blaming others for their own fault.

It is great to hear and feel (through your emotional writing ;)) your desire to return and truly contribute to our country through education.

People who can afford private schools already have privileged lives and are an increasingly selfish lot. It is the children in the public system whom we need to reach out to. It is in the public system that we desperately need good teachers.

Hence, selfishly and idealistically I think you should push harder with trying to get into the public system. Whatever is written, Malaysia is a country where there is a lot of 'gray area'. You're wasting your time talking to people who will answer phone calls. They either don't care or don't know enough to see your potential. I suggest formally writing to and if possible arranging to talk to someone with authority and who is able to make independent decisions. In other words, pull strings! If you don't have strings, make them! Ironically, our corrupt system will work to your benefit here. No, I don't mean you necessarily need to bribe someone and ideally you don't, but appeal to someone and make them see the light!!

I've considered becoming a teacher in Malaysia and a former teacher of mine told me her story about how she got both her first degree and her GradDip in Australia, and they weren't recognised by MoE. (This was many years ago; Not sure if better or worse now). She had to come back and fight the system for months to push her way through. Took her six months before getting someone to OK her qualification. When she was finally accepted, they sent her to Kelantan and she was put on probation for 2 yrs. The silver lining is... It is possible. It will be hard. Anything worth doing will be hard. But I believe it is possible.

You can always find a job in a private school in the meantime, but please don't give up on getting into the public system so you can teach the truly needy. Malaysia needs you. An overhaul of our education system is inevitable. They *must* start opening up to talents soon, otherwise the whole nation will suffer.

Why is it that when someone don't get what they want then they say the system is corrupt? These same people might be working in an organization which surely must have some form of operating system. If someone else cannot get what they want from the organization because the request do not meet the organization's criteria, can we say the organization's system is corrupt?

Some of you drink too much of the "everyone's whining" kool-aid. Keep thinking like that, and sooner or later we might as well label all our emigrating professionals "whiners who only complain about the system". Let's also be hostile whenever they come back, since they all "did not check out what makes the most money in this country and will only whine afterwards" (hint: it's called "politicians"). Yeah, that will do us some good, no?

When we think of changing a system, arguing "we're catering to this person or that person" gets you nowhere; it's the public good, dammit, and we change the system into whatever that will bring the greatest benefit to all. I fail to see how changing the system in a way that (coincidentally!) will accomodate this person can bring any harm; in fact it will most likely serve public interest as the diversity and qualification of future teachers will be expanded. Keep turning a blind eye to defects in the system, and our overall state of education will keep languishing as we dismiss people as "not having a case".

So, still up in the wee hours of the morning spewing hate and venom at us "vermin-scholars"?Take care of your health man.

Communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe collapsed like a deck of cards because of the scribblings of"vermin-scholars" such as Vaclav Havel and the signers of Charter 77. So, don't be so sure your UMNO-BN kleptocracy will last a thousand years.

By the way, the dog is a noble animal ..... And I am a proud member of the Malaysian Chinese minority. A patriot who chose to return from overseas to help end your UMNO-BN kleptocracy.

Yeah, this geek freak worker-slave is sitting comfortably in his office at his computer engaging in debate with his geek freak self-proclaimed member of Malaysia's ruling class. Actually, I can comfortably retire and live a dog's life but I choose to work productively and help to educate the next generation. Are you engaging in productive work orengaging in rent-seeking capitalist activities that help to raise prices of electricity, water, toll etc for the rest of us "worker-slaves"?

Coltz, what 'public good' nonsense are you talking about? Anucia has screwed-up in her process to become a public school teacher. Plain and simple. She did not take up a grad dip in education at a recognised institution when there are recognised institutions. Don't make a mole into a mountain.

Anucia did not blame the system but her mentally challenged supporters like you and Anonymous 7.55 am are the ones making all kinds of ridiculous accusations.

Instead, Anucia should ask the officer at MOE, given that she has am unrecognised grad dip in education qualification, what are the options she has to enable her to teach in public school. If her Bahasa Melayu is not fluent(by right as citizen she should be fluent in the national language)bring someone who is fluent to assist her to talk to the officer.

Which part of "public good" do you not understand now? I've read through every comment and based on Coltz's comments alone it makes things plain and simple.

A teacher working as civil servant = public good, they educate the public so to speak.

A government = distributes public goods, which are the civil service of our daily lives.

To not allow Anucia into the civil service is denying yet another public good because who knows who will benefit if she teaches in public school, which represents the whole Malaysian education system in the first place?

What Coltz was trying to argue was that just because of the civil service "technicality" by establishing what is and isn't credible for Malaysian civil service drives young people away when they should be attracting more people to serve the country, because Anucia WANTS to.

To everyone else,Forget about politics for just that one moment, don't you think for once, having qualified teachers in public schools presents a sigh of relief instead of constantly worrying about the kind of syllables our children goes through?

This is EXACTLY why the education system is terrible here. People who do not understand simple politically neutral terms like public good and instead focus on extreme words like corrupt and politicised, or mentioning things like GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY!!!

While I sympathised with Anucia's condition, regrettably, she could either fight if she's not in a hurry for a job, or find one now and worry about entering the public education. She's not at her wit's end and if her accreditations were good as she had claimed, jobs would come easily for her.

Do not fret Anucia =)

Oh and one thing, don't ever compare the Malaysian civil service to the rest of the countries. Most Western countries employ the best people in the field, not scraps and leftovers like ours, unfortunately.

But beneath those scraps there are gems around. You just need to know where to look.

I'm done talking here, this space looks more like a battle of trying to "understand" words than really arguing the issue. Yuck.

Anucia, with due respect to you, your case unfortunately does not qualify as 'public good' as Coltz and Anonymous 1.47 am want people to believe. Your case is simply 'private good' to you. You plan to offer services to the public school system which you expect to be paid in return. Unfortunately, you did not meet the authorities' requirement. Had the government not provided adequate schools for its citizen, then it would have qualify as 'public good'. These people have not provided you any solutions except moanings and groanings.

The way forward as I said earlier is to talk to the correct officer at the MoE. Accreditation of foreign degrees is not within the ambit of MoE, it is the Ministry of Higher Education. But you can start at the MoE because you need MoE's approval to teach in public schools. What you need now is to know what are your options available in order to pursue your dreams. Find out from the right people . Obviously not from some morons here.

This Coltz fella obviously has an opposition mentality who can't articulate an issue objectively. No government in the world is perfect. If there are grievances, there are legal and democratic procedures to seek redress on grievances. Whinings and moanings won't solve problems.

Dear Advisor, you just implied that the inclusion of highly motivated and educated people like Anucia into any education system will always be a public good. You also implied that she should seek "legal and democratic procedures" contrary to your prior comments on working with the bureaucracy.

Coltz, you are one very confused person. My latest comment was merely in response to your comment at 3.52 pm in which you implied that the government has not provided adequate education to its citizen. My response at 5.55 pm implied that if there are inadequacies in the system, the citizens should take legal or democratic procudures to correct or change the system. It was a not specific advice to Anucia but to all citizen. My advice to Anucia has already be dealt with at 10/16/2009 02:37:00 PM and 10/17/2009 02:13:00 PM. This is my last comment in this thread as I am done with you as you love to twist and turn facts.

People really need to stop assuming that an Australian degree gives them security. I thought that Malaysians are a rank conscious society, yet they seem to think Australian education is held in high esteem. UWA is 84th on the world rankings. Internationally recognized? Are you kidding me? While rankings may not be good indicators of quality, they are good indicators of recognizable a university is.

Consult the writings of Prof Jomo KS on rent-seeking capitalism in Malaysia. And Jospeh Schumpeter on entrepreneurial capitalism too.

P.S. You say you are a member of Malaysia's ruling class, so why don't you use your real name instead of hiding behind the cloak of anonymity? This will be my final message to cowardly Ketuanan Melayu (i.e. Ketuanan UMNOputera) types like you. Meanwhile"vermin scholars" like myself will continue to work with progressive Malays from PKR and principled conservatives from PAS to end your kleptocracy.

You did not say whether you did it on campus in Australia or by correspondence or distance learning.

In any case, the government is not so keen because you didn't study all the local Malaysian studies stuff that the government wants all teachers to and if you did not, how then can you teach all the local values, like 1Malaysia, Islam Hadhari, Rukun Tetangga and Negara, to local students? Or comply with local 1Malaysia conditions?

Most distance and correspondence courses are not recognised anyway unless you actually attend structured, physical class sessions and you have access to facilities.

Thirdly, you may have studied in English and this is no longer advantageous in the light that we have all gone "local", back to Bahasa. They immediately ruled you out.

The Malaysian Quality people have not evaluated your Graduate diploma. Most overseas diplomas don't carry much weight any more in government circles. They only understand Bachelor, Masters and Doctor degrees. Diplomas are half baked, so no chance.

What is good for Aussies are not necessarily good or suitable for 1Malaysians. They are the 'lucky' country while we are still finding our way. The kids there are kings and here we wallop them.

I sympathise with you but you must know by now our civil servants are well, kings, and they will not lift a finger to see if they can be of any help. They are not paid to do 'extras' and they are also not there to think. But their word is law.

ARE YOU IN FINANCIAL NEED, YOUR LANDLORD IS QUITTING YOU FROM YOUR HOME AND YOU NEED LOAN TO START UP A BUSINESS? DO YOU NEED A LOAN? WE OFFER THE BEST LOAN AT BISHOP FINANCIAL SERVICE LIMITED CONTACT US AT bishoploancompany@gmail.com

OUR TRANSFER IS JUST 2DAYS TRANSFER YOU WILL GET YOUR LOAN INTO YOUR BANKING ACCOUNT WITH GREAT GUARANTEE AND ASURANCE

YYEEESSS. I need a loan. Can you arrange one for RM 12.5 billion in hard currency?

Don't ask what I need it for. I just need it. So pleeeeeese help. Pronto. I will give you my personal IOU. I guarantee I will do my best to repay you as soon as I can. You can trust me. Honest. Or my name isn't Honest Charlie Chikadee. I am from Nigeria. Hope to hear from you soon.

Guru sandaran is "temporary teacher" which means u guys can apply da position through "walk in" 2 da school~ its depend on the school they needs hw many temporary teacher~the salary is paid by 董事 or govern~ they hv no others "elaun" which offer by govern~ becos they are not govern servant~

Guru sandaran terlatih which call Kursus Dalam Cuti (KDC)~ it needs 2 apply via edu mins web~ the application normaly offer for the "guru sandaran" who are teaching at the skul a period time ad~ its govern servant and they can get the "elaun"~

I choose not to answer meaningless rhetorical (to scientists and social scientists) questions from people who show signs of dyslexia like you. Cannot meh??

If you are able to conduct yourself with decorum on this electronic forum and you are not an UMNO/BN mercenary cybertrooper, then we can engage in serious intellectual debate. Otherwise, this will be my last message to you. I don't suffer fools gladly.

Phua Kai Lit

P.S. You know what "existentialism"is? If not, go read up on it. It may even change your life for the better!

I cannot fathom the fact that people actually consider chinese nowadays as coolies. The logic is so flawed, to the extend that primary school children would take it as a hearty joke. To hold onto such flawed logic and announce it loudly, boldly without a single trace of reserve, in a blog's comment, what's going on with these people? I'm absolutely fascinated!

Well, quite simply this is politics. I suggest you to try apply international schools in Malaysia if you wish to stay in the country. You can still live in Malaysia, while your wages and holidays are no different if not more compare to that of government school. (not sure what the wages for local teachers in Malaysian intl schools)

It's very simple. Your not a Malay, even you have great credentials, you will not be recognized.

I am sorry you felt your parents have to spend their life's savings for you to come back and help the country's education system where they are clearly insecure about facing challenges, typical pampered Malay culture. Where bumi's will just get free education/training on what you get overseas.

It's just plain simple in this country.

Advise is, go invest your time and commitment in Australia. Better to start a new life there. Bring your parents and the rest of your family along.

Miss A, people like you are rare nowadays. Keep searching and and keep following your dreams. This is an example of a good spirit that Malaysian should take note on: Love for the country.

As for the part about not checking the qualification, that's a mistake on Miss A's part, which is in the past. The blame on the system for not accepting her into the education system is another issue that we should focus on, the flexibility of our education system.

As for the rest, racial unity shown in this part of the blog is very very poor. People like Assoc. Professor Phua Kai Lit have my respects. I don't want to say that I support any sides but it is better if we clear our thoughts of any racist intent before we post here.

I'm a Bumiputera, and I love my country, but I'm sad by the fact that racism lurks around the corner in our country, and its getting prominent with every racist speech spouting on the net.

This might be another foreshadowing of the future of our country. We are all civilised human beings, aren't we?

First of all, i would like to express my sadness for this issue. However, i am talking from my opinion without supporting any side. Government is in hard position as well. In our country education system, they are not only had to protect local universities graduate but as well teacher training institution teachers as well. I believe those teacher from teacher training institute are good as they studies for 5 years n half, focusing in education. MQA is a process that help to make sure our educational quality standard is on the par so no blame on the MQA. Yes, Miss A might be a good student during the teacher practical in oversea but are u sure that you can do so in our own country? Remember to consider the country and pupils backgrounds as well. It is not the time to blame each another but i suppose this is the path for reflection.